⁍ The only leader of fellow Gulf Arab states in attendance was the emir of Qatar, which has been boycotted by Saudi Arabia and its allies.
⁍ His successor and brother, Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah, 83, headed the rites after being sworn in at parliament.
⁍ Sheikh Nawaf takes the reins of the small wealthy nation, which holds the world’s seventh-largest oil reserves.
– Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, has died at the age of 91, and his younger brother has been sworn in as his successor. Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah, 83, was at the airport when the body of his brother, who had been hospitalized in the US since July, arrived, Reuters reports. The only other leader from Gulf Arab states was the emir of Qatar, who has been boycotted by Saudi Arabia and its allies, including the United Arab Emirates, in a dispute that Sheikh Sabah tried to resolve until his death. His successor and brother, Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah, pledged to work for the OPEC member state’s prosperity, stability, and security. “Our dear nation today faces difficult situations and dangerous challenges that can only be overcome … by unifying ranks and working hard together,” he told the National Assembly. Sheikh Nawaf takes the reins of the small wealthy nation, which holds the world’s seventh-largest oil reserves, at a time when low crude prices and the coronavirus have strained the finances of a country with a cradle-to-grave welfare system. His succession is not expected to change oil or investment policy and he is seen maintaining a foreign policy that saw Kuwait balance ties with larger neighbors Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-kuwait-emir/kuwait-bids-farewell-to-late-ruler-and-pillar-of-arab-diplomacy-as-new-emir-takes-over-idUSKBN26L166